1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a computer program or app that allows a parent to monitor and modify his or her child's behavior while allowing the child to participate in a fun interactive experience. It should be noted that the term “parent” is used throughout this application and may mean biological parent, adopted parents, older family members, trusted adults or legal guardians. In particular, the present invention utilizes an app where a fictitious character interacts with the child. The fictitious character is controlled by the parent and empowers the parent to encourage good behavior and remediate bad behavior through communication back to the child from the fictitious character along with a scoring system on the app. Furthermore, the parent and child may select rewards for good behavior. These rewards might include toys, games and other commercial goods. The data gathered from the use of the app could then be managed and coordinated with various third party retailers and outside companies who make or sell the desired goods.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ever since the first parents began to raise their first child, there has been a need for the parents to modify the behavior of the children. Unfortunately, human history has documented the difficulties of successful parenting. One of the ways that parents have controlled behavior is through the use of rewards and punishments. One of the favorite rewards is the ability to buy the child a toy or present. If the parent utilizes a fictitious third-party—such as Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy or an elf—the results are even better.
Nevertheless, in the 21st Century a lot of things have changed—not the least of which is how children interact with their parents in this digital age. There are at least three major problems that parents, consumer products companies and retailers face in the current marketplace.
One, there is the problem of parent and child alienation. In this modern age, children are exposed to more outside influences through TV, personal computers, portable electronics devices and social networks than ever before, leading them to mature more quickly and pull away from their parents at an earlier age. As a result they often respect their parents less, which can lead to bad behavior. This bad behavior sometimes causes the parent to attempt more discipline, which may further alienate the child. Modern technology has only exacerbated the challenge for parents, resulting in personal communication between parent and child not being as comprehensive as it once was. Where a child was once isolated at home or at the dinner table, today this child can be texting his or her friends in the middle of dinner. The child can be playing games 24 hours a day without having to invite over friends or go to the television set in the family room. Today, chances are the child is sharing ideas regarding what toys, games or apps are the most “cool” with friends over Facebook or doing their own shopping for toys or apps on a smartphone, rather than sharing that information with their parents.
Two, traditional and fictional third-party characters used to encourage a child's good behavior have not kept pace with technology. Parents have commonly used third-party characters to help keep their children in line. If a Mom tells her son to clean his room, it may not have much impact. If that same Mom tells her son that Santa Claus is watching and if he cleans his room he may get the new toys he wants, the behavioral difference is notable. The use of a third party is especially effective when the third party is somewhat magical or supernatural in his or her powers. The problem today is that third party characters have not been integrated into the technological devices that today's children are increasingly familiar with.
Three, the same problem regarding pre-adolescent wishes and tastes also affects manufacturers and retailers. How can a company know what toy or product will be the “hot” item in a particular year? Where can companies access this information in near real-time? Since their target consumer is under-aged, they cannot, effectively survey them or interact much without parental involvement, which is expensive and time-consuming. Manufacturers and retailers often do not have enough data to make the best decisions. Furthermore, retailers cannot effectively capitalize on trends because they are late to catch on. This tardiness also gives an advantage to certain retailers who are more adept at managing their supply chain or at quickly interacting with their customers.
There have been various attempts to improve parent and child interaction. There have also been programs to encourage parents and children to communicate with retailers. These efforts have been met with limited success for various reasons. For example, much of the information on improving child behavior uses old media where the parent was forced to use a movie or book to help his or her child or provide parental advice. In addition, the prior fictitious third-party character solutions have relied on traditional methods that provide limited interaction between parent and child and no communication back to retailers. Taking a child to the mall to see Santa or having an elf toy on the shelf or nightstand seems outdated when one could have, a virtual Santa or elf on their iPhone or iPad. Further, these older technologies did not allow for any data gathering and there was no method for a beneficial consumer and retailer interaction.
With the foregoing in mind, the present method and system attempts to address these shortcomings by providing an app that 1) allows a parent to monitor and modify his or her child's behavior while allowing the child to participate in a fun interactive experience and 2) provides an invaluable, near real-time communication link back to retailers regarding a child's current must have wish list of toys and gifts.